13
Age the actress began formal voice training, dreaming of opera while studying with renowned vocal coach Estelle Liebling.
326,000,000
Estimated global box-office dollars earned by The Devil Wears Prada (2006), the film that transformed Miranda Priestly into a fashion archetype.
21
Record-setting number of Academy Award nominations she’s earned. Streep won Best Actress for her roles in 1982’s Sophie’s Choice and 2011’s The Iron Lady, and Best Supporting Actress for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer.
8
Accents she has performed in major films—ranging from Polish and Danish to British and Bronx.
1949
The year Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep was born in Summit, New Jersey—raised by her mother, Mary Wilkinson, a commercial artist and former editor, and her father, Harry William Streep Jr., a pharmaceutical executive. She grew up in the Garden State with her two younger brothers, Dana and Harry III.
2008
The year Streep surprised audiences with Mamma Mia!, singing ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All” and “Slipping Through My Fingers.”
5
Broadway productions that shaped Streep’s early stage career, including her debut as Miss Imogen Parrott in Trelawny of the “Wells” and her Tony-nominated performance as Lt. Lillian Holiday in the Brecht-Weill musical Happy End.
1
The LSAT exam for a potential law school route that she slept through, a small misstep that redirected her toward a legendary acting career.
13
Number of productions Streep performed in while studying at the Yale School of Drama before earning her MFA in 1975. Roles included Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and Constance Garnett in The Idiots Karamazov.